Waiting For An Answer
by blondes-are-more-fun
Summary: Avery, a 15 year old girl, is yet to find a happy place in life. Stuck in New York City, her one job is to impress everyone. While spending July with her Mother, Avery find herself along with the boy of her dreams. Dark. Angel. From. Above. is my lovely beta. :)
1. Chapter 1

Waiting For an Answer

1

He was carrying her. She was asleep, still wearing her purple pajama bottoms and a white tank-top. That's what she was wearing the night she was taken. Her red hair was barely tied into her ponytail holder. She looked confused, her face contorted with pain. Suddenly, her eyes opened

"AVERY! HELP! AVERY WHY'D YOU LET HIM HURT ME! NO AVERY! NO NO-"

"No! No!" I screamed in my sleep. My blankets were wet. Had I peed? I touched my face. Sweat. I was drenched in sweat. So was my bed. I heard quick, panicked foot steps down the hallway. My dad burst into my room, his face concerned, and relieved that I was okay. He held my head against his chest, and let me soak his shirt in tears.

"She needed me," I mumbled between sobs, "Faith."

. . .

I zippered my blue, plastic suitcase. I liked the sound it made, so I unzipped it, and zipped it again a few times. I think I was just stalling. I didn't want to leave Albany.

"It will only be a few weeks. Your mother would really like to see you," I hated mom, "And I think it will be good for you to get out of Massachusetts." What is that supposed to mean? We rode to the airport on silence. I put my dark brown hair into a braid and let it hang down my back. My hair was really long now.

"You will love Naples. The fresh air, and the beach. You love swimming, Avery." I nodded as dad continued on with all the reason Naples is better than Albany. Maybe it won't be to bad. I could use some time out of the city. I created a picture in my head of Florida as our black SUV pulled into the airport parking lot. My stomach dropped.

"Dad I don't want to fly." I stated.

"Well you cant take a boat!" He laughed.

I stared at him longingly. A boat would be nice.

"Avery, you'll be fine." He told me. I was about to start an argument, but I realized that I shouldn't make the time I have with my dad wasted.

The airport was big and full of people, some were on cell phones and some were having a hard time handling there suitcases and children at the same time. I saw several people just waking up on the benches.

My flight was scheduled to leave at 10:50 and was scheduled to arrive at 1:45. Dad and I sat in the waiting chairs, eating sunflower seeds and talking about home. I missed it already, and I haven't even left yet.

When they first called my plane, I didn't realize. Dad had to tap my shoulder after the flight attendant had said it a few times. She arranged us in groups A and B, according to our tickets. I was in group A. I hugged my father before stepping onto the runway.

"I love you Avery!" he called to me, his voice was muffled by the sound of the plane.

**AN: Sorry this is short I was just getting started! Tell me what you think! I promise chapter to will be longer!**


	2. Chapter 2

**2**

**T****he **man sitting next to me wasn't much of a bother. He just leaned up against the closed window and slept, a tiny bit of drool running down his chin. I rubbed my hand up and down the tan, leather seats and studied the other passengers faces. What if right here, right now, the plane crashed? I imagined the whole scene in my head. Every time the plane jerked, I flinched, preparing to die.

My ears popped when the plane landed in Florida. I considered waking the drooling man up but my instincts told me someone else would. I stumbled off the plane and into the airport. I looked for my mom but couldn't find her in the crowd of people. I scanned the crowd, and saw two arms holding up a sign saying **AVERY TAYLOR**

How many "Avery Taylor"s was there at this airport? I sat down on one of the metal benches and turned on my I phone.

Where are you? I texted to my mother

Just find a sign that says Avery Taylor in Black letters! I will explain later! So glad you're here! Xoxo! I got a quick reply. My mom had better things to do than pick up her 15 year old daughter from the airport. Pathetic. I stood up and looked for the sign. A bald man wearing brown khaki shorts and a red t-shirt was holding the sign, smiling like it was Christmas morning. I was a little frightened to approach him.

I walked over silently, rubbing my shoes against the blue carpeting.

"Avery!" He called. I looked up and smiled acting like I knew who he was. He started walking towards me and I took a step back. He continued to walk and I stepped back again. I rammed into a pole, jerked sideway and fell. My eyes were clearly scared as he held his hand down to me.

"I'm not going to hurt you sweetie," he said as he yanked me up. I believed him more as he explained. "Your mother asked me to come and grab you," his choice of words concerned me, "so that we could get to know each other."

"Oh, that makes sense. What's your name?" I questioned.

"I'm Michael. You probably didn't recognize me without my hair." He gave out for opinion. No, I don't recognize him at all. Michael…..

I waited for my luggage to come out of the conveyer belt for about five minutes. Michael seemed to understand my uneasiness about him, so he kept a distance. I saw a little girl trying to grab a big black suit case. Her mother pulled her back and shook her head. My blue suitcases seemed heavier than they were before. Michael rushed over and took both with ease. I slung my black and white carryon over my shoulder.

"So Naples may be a little different from the city," he said as the automatic doors slid open, "but it's a lot of fun." Instantly, I was the outcast, in my black shorts and silver shoulder shirt. Its what everyone wears in the city, and in high school, unless you want to be segregated from decency. I hoped that I would still fit in.

I always wanted to fit in.

…

The whole ride home, I was uncomfortable. The car was nice, roomy, and had a nice temperature, but I didn't know where we were going, or who I was with. I can only imagine what my boyfriend, Kyle, would say if I told him about this. "Avery, you know not to get in a car with a strange man." He was always making everything into a joke. And his jokes were never funny.

I'm in FL! I texted to him. I waited a few minutes for him to reply.

Cool. He replied. I frowned. I didn't feel like starting a conversation like always. I looked at Kyle's ID picture on my phone. He looked the same as he did in seventh grade, brown hair, brown eyes, and a little freckle on his chin. He was cute, I had to admit, but he wasn't the one. My friends say we are

perfect for each other, but Kyle was my opposite. Joking around with everything, and acting like my feelings were a game. I couldn't stand being around him, yet part of me couldn't let go of him. Kyle was mad at me too, because of my being in Florida I was missing his 16th birthday party, and he was angry that he wouldn't have a playmate to wait on his every needs and to kiss him when he needed to impress someone. I didn't want to go, but I wish I was back in New York.

"We should be home in about six minutes," Michael said, looking into the rear view mirror. Michael drove very fast, and it made me feel unsafe. I grabbed my phone and told mom where we were, the street we were on, and what we were passing, just in case. Michael turned onto a road that didn't have any cars on. The driveways were made of rocks, or seashells and some were just dirt. I didn't have a driveway in New York. We lived in an apartment, like most people did. Michael turned without, putting a signal on, to a dirt driveway that had a shingled house at the end. The shingles were still a yellow color, but had weathered down nicely, giving the outside a cozy appearance. I opened the door and stepped onto the dirt, which was squishy and wet. My mother quickly ran out of the house.

"Avery! It so good to see you baby!" My mom yelled as she swallowed me in a hug. I hugged her back, forgetting the horrible things she did to my father. Michael slammed the trunk and handed my mother one of my heavy suitcases. Her blue eyes widened.

"Here, mom, let me get it!" I reached for the suitcase but she turned around and walked toward the door.

"I can handle it sweetie how old do you think I am? 46?" She asked, not looking for an answer. I followed her into the house. I wiped my feet on the mat that read "Welcome" in different colors.

The house smelled of lemon and cookies, which was a lot different than the city. The living room was painted a light blue and the floor was hardwood, stained with water and sand. The couch was white and blue with matching blue pillows. A big brown lamp gave the room a nice glow. I followed mom into another room. It had a full bed with a dark blue bed spread. The walls were wood and the floor was covered in a white shag carpet. There was a white dresser in the corner.

"This is the guest room, I hope you like it." She sat down in the bed next to me, "Is this temperature okay? If its to cold I can turn it down a little." She offered.

"No, no it's fine." I replied. I looked at the door seeing if there was any locks.

"Do you want me to help you unpack?" Mom asked, standing up and grabbing my suitcase. I didn't answer because she had already opened my suitcase.

**AN: Hey I tried to make this chapter longer! It might be boring right now but it will get better. I know the summary and the plot line kind of sounds like "The Last Song" ! I am trying to make it different! **


	3. Chapter 3

3

"**W****hat **is this? A fashion show?" Mother looked at me, confused by my designer clothes. "Ave, you don't like this!" She held up a striped romper, that I remembered buying after my friend told me she was dying to get one.

"Well everyone else does." I argued quietly. Mother blinked twice before closing the suitcase and laying it on the floor.

"Avery, you can't let other people tell you what to wear and what to do." My mother informed me. She reminded me of dad, he said that to me everyday. Dad.

"I forgot to call dad when I got of the plane." I told her. Mom stood up and left the room as I dialed dads number on my phone. He picked up after one ring.

"Hey sweetie! How was the flight?" He asked anxiously.

"It was good. We didn't crash," I said picking the silver nail polish off my ring finger.

"That's good, and how- how's mom?" He stuttered.

"She's good, the house is really nice." I managed. He was silent on the other line. I waited for him to say something.

"Well hope you have fun. Love you Avery!" He replied finally.

"Love you too, dad!" I hung up as he said "bye". I looked at my clothes. Did they even look good on me? They looked great on my best friend Rebecca, she actually had this same top. She has those shorts I have too. No, I have those shorts that SHE has. I needed to stop thinking about clothes. Clothes don't describe a person.

I grabbed the golden door knob and turned it slowly. I looked through the little crack in the door to see if anyone was stalking around the house, but I only saw Mom and Michael at the kitchen table. Who was Michael, and why was he here? I scratched my shoulder before stepping out of the room, trying to make the clicking sound of my black heels quiet.

"Honey, I don't think heels are going to work to well in sand." My mother protested.

"But I only own heels." I told her. It was somewhat true. I had a pair of flip flops and gym sneakers but other than that just heels. Kyle said that I needed them.

"Alright, Ave. Get in the car we're going shopping," she said, grabbing her keys off the table.

…

The first store we walked into was called "Sunny State Couture". I guessed that it had something to do with Florida being "The Sunshine State", so I held open the door for mom as we walked in. I grabbed my milky white arm and tried to rub my Goosebumps off. The store was below freezing, and the white tile made it feel even colder.

I followed mom to the back of the room that had clothes more my size. She started rifling through a rack of clothes, so I did the same thing too. I looked at the price tags on some of the shirts.

$13.95. One read. $12.99, on another one. These clothes are so cheap, I thought. Most of my shirts were at least thirty-five dollars, and most of my pants were sixty.

Mom had a bunch of shirts hanging on her arm, most were white, or blue or orange, colors that I usually never wear.

"Are we getting a new wardrobe, mom?" I asked taking part of the load of her right arm. She smiled.

"Hey, if we are going to go shopping you might as well go all out!" That was like word candy, "See anything you like?" She asked. I blushed and looked at the ground. I usually have my friends pick out my clothes for me, "How about you start trying these on?"

"I think that's probably a good idea." I chuckled. Mom took me over to the dressing rooms and put all of the shirts on the silver hanger. I started off with a white flowy tank top, that had a bright blue wave crashing on it. It fit me perfect, and looked casual with my designer black shorts. Casual. The only time I looked casual was in my pajamas. It was not like anything I had ever worn, but I liked it. In fact, I liked almost every top I tried on, and I didn't care one bit how Rebecca and Kyle felt about it.

…

Mom cheated on Dad. I was 12 years old when it happened. Dad and I had finished dinner and he was cleaning up while I was doing homework. Mom walked in, it was half past eight. My dad looked at her, his face expressionless, but his eyes showed grief. Mom refused eye contact, and set her purse down. She pulled her silky brown hair onto one shoulder. Scarf fell off. My dad gasped. She had a bruise on her neck, and at that age I didn't know what it meant, but I know now. And I have never forgiven her.

That scarf is hanging up on the door. Right. Now.


	4. Chapter 4

**4**

"**S****o **are you bringing Avery along with us to church tomorrow?" Michael asked, shoveling a spoonful of spaghetti into his mouth.

"Oh my gosh! I totally forgot!" She turned towards me, "Avery, a few weeks ago I signed up to help out at the clothing donation at our church! Do you want to come? You can stay home if you want." Mom offered looking at me like she was trying to actually care. Did she?

"No, I'll come with you guys, if that's alright?" I asked, afraid of being left home alone. Mom nodded, her mouth hung open a little bit, and her emerald green eyes shined as bright as always.

"Well," She started, "you might have to help out," she said not looking up from her dinner.

"Yeah that's fine." I replied, and continued eating my dinner in silence.

. . .

I set my white ceramic bowl into the metal sink, and began running water into it. I rinsed my hands, too, not liking the sticky feeling vanilla ice cream left on my fingers. I walked away from the sink and pulled down my soft, blue sleep shorts.

I found my way to the guest bedroom, and lay down on the navy bedspread. I could almost fall asleep, it had been a long day. I sat up and reached for my wooden hairbrush and brushed through my dark brown hair. It felt so smooth to the touch, like black silk. I heard the tiny 'click' of the light switch and the whole house grew dark. I quickly scrambled to my luggage that was sitting in a heap next to the dresser, and grabbed my green flashlight. I turned it on and it lit up the whole room, I walked out of the room and towards the kitchen, slowly and quietly. I reached into the wooden drawer and pulled out a stake knife. Its black handle clasped tightly in my hand as I walked cautiously back to my room.

I got under the covers and layed on my side. My eyes started to slowly close and I fell asleep.

. . .

He was carrying her. She was asleep, still wearing her purple pajama bottoms and a white tank-top. That's what she was wearing the night she was taken. Her red hair was barely tied into her ponytail holder. She looked confused, her face contorted with pain. Suddenly, her eyes opened

"AVERY! HELP! AVERY WHY'D YOU LET HIM HURT ME! NO AVERY! NO!" I tried to wake up. I wanted to wake up. He walked deeper into the woods. He suddenly dropped her and turned around. Michael. I grabbed his arm and threw him to the ground. I held his arms down with my knee caps and drew the knife I was sleeping with.

Wait a second.

I was awake.

Michael's face was struck with fear as he looked from me to the knife. I shrunk down next to him on the bed.

"Michael, I am so sorry." I started, and wasn't sure how to finish. When he didn't reply, I decided to get up and leave, still clutching the knife.

. . .

"And Miss. Taylor, you can work over here with Sawyer." A sweaty old man grabbed my hand and helped me up some steep stairs. He was very nice, but I wished he would let go of me.

Once we got up the stairs, he opened a dark brown door and signaled me to walk in. I smiled as saying thanks you, and entered the room.

Several tables were set up in a big open room, with clothes piled high on top of them. I saw a blonde haired boy folding a red shirt and laying it on top of a different pile.

"Hey Sawyer! I got you fresh meat! Show her the ropes?" The old man yelled. He slammed the door behind him, the sound making me jump a little. I started to walk towards this "Sawyer" boy. I didn't know then, but going to church that day would change my whole life.

**AN: Hey! I am soooo sorry that I haven't updated in forever and sorry this is so short but school started so I have had a really hard time getting any writing done! I'm going to try and update again by Friday but if not, sorry!**


	5. Chapter 5

**5**

**A****s **I walked closer, I realized the boy's hair was slightly darker, and coarser than it had looked from ten feet away. My new white flip flops skimmed the floor as I shuffled towards the tables.

"Hi," I said awkwardly. He cocked his head to the side, looked at me, and then turned around.

"I'm Sawyer," he held out his tan, dry hand. I put my pale hand into his and moved it up and down. Sawyer looked straight into my eyes. It felt like he was glaring into my soul. His mouth hung open a little. The corners of his lips turned up into a smile.

"So where are you from? Flamingo?" He asked returning to his work. I remembered mom telling me that Naples and Flamingo are rivals.

"Upton, Massachusetts." I lied. I could see him nodding his head from the corner of my eye.

"Well if you need someone to show you around, I'm here," he said. My eyes widened and my stomach fluttered.

"Yeah, we could go for a long walk. On a short pier." I offered as a joke. He laughed a little.

"Hard to get?" He asked me.

"I have a boyfriend." I told him. His heavy breathing got lighter. Maybe he though if I couldn't hear him, I would forget he was there. He spoke again.

"If they cant be sold you put them in this pile," He pointed toward a pile of nasty shirts, "and if they're good, in that one." He cocked his head to the side. I could tell I disappointed him.

. . .

My phone began buzzing just as I sat down to watch a movie with mom. I grabbed it off the couch, and read it.

5 NEW MESSAGES

I unlocked my phone and looked through my messages. My jaw dropped.

"Omg I cant believe it!"

"WHY AVERY WHY?!

"Who dumped who?"

"Awwww, this is soooo sad :'("

"you guys were perfect together why did you end it?" I scrunched up my eyebrows. Kayla, one of my "friends" was the one who started the whole "PERFECT COUPLE!" thing. I quickly got off the couch and called her.

"What are you talking about?" I whispered into the phone. I closed myself in my room.

"I'm at Kyle's party," she said, but I could hardly hear her over the noise.

"And?" I asked, waiting for an answer.

"Rebecca is Kyle's date." She finally managed to say. Both our lines were silent, except for the yelling of people at the party.

"Wait, what?"

"He said that you dumped him before you left for Florida. Him and Rebecca have been inseparable since then." She replied.

"Kayla, I never broke up with him!" I yelled hoping mom didn't hear me. Why would Kyle do this? Just because I couldn't go to his party doesn't mean he has the right to cheat. I realized that Kyle has power over everyone. What he says goes, and everyone just wants to be around him.

"So he is cheating?!" She yelled. I nodded my head even though she couldn't see it.

"Not anymore. Because I am dumping him right now." I hung up. I sat on my bed for a minute. What now? Why did I care so much? I hardly even liked Kyle. He was a player, hipster, and total jerk to everyone. That's not the reputation I wanted to have. Is that what people think of me? Do they think I'm a slut?

I layed down, grabbed my pillow and put it on my face. Then I just screamed. I sat there screaming for a few minutes. Then I breathed. Today was only Saturday. I had been here for two days. I wanted to go home. But I didn't want to talk to anyone. I was so furious about Kyle, about Rebecca and about my stupid Dad who made me come to Florida in the first place!

I yanked open my door and walked straight into Michael. Suddenly I couldn't control myself.

"Why are you still here?! Go home!" I screamed at him. I heard my moms tiny foot steps. She pushed Michael away from the doorway.

"Avery, Michael is my husband."

. . .

I slammed another shirt into the pile, and it fell out of it's loose fold.

"So he just goes with Rebecca. Rebecca as in my BEST FRIEND! Ugh, I just can't even." I yelled. Sawyer nodded his head as he refolded the messy pile of clothes I made, "And it gets better. My mom re married. Without telling me. Yeah, isn't that just fantastic?" Sawyer turned to me. He had a straight face, but his eyes were full of sympathy.

"I'm sorry," is all he said, but it made me feel a million times better. Suddenly I got a head rush. All this was happening so quickly. I needed a friend, but I was completely alone. No. Sawyer listened.

"Thanks for the help," I said taking the refolded clothing. He smiled and nodded. His dark blonde hair ended just at his brow, and his brown eyes glistened. I wondered if my eyes ever did that. I then realized I was staring at him. He laughed, and I did too. "So do you help out here a lot?"

"On Saturday mornings, Sunday and Mondays during the Summer." He told me. I nodded my head slightly.

"What grade are you in?" I asked him, beginning my work again.

"Senior this year, and you?"

"Eleventh." I replied. We stood there for a few minutes. I could almost feel the awkwardness building up. I suddenly turned my body, I didn't know what I was doing. He turned anxiously to.

"So maybe sometime," "If you still would-" I stopped. My mouth opened a little bit. He closed his eyes, and then looked straight at me.

"Do you want to go to the boardwalk with me tonight?" He asked. I got a feeling I had never had before, and I could hardly describe it.

"Yes," I told him.

**AN: So I really want more people to read my story! Thank you to the few people that do though! I'm going to try updating once a week but school is really busy for me. I really hope that my story doesn't sound to much like the last song. Trust me, Avery is a lot different than Ronny!**


	6. Chapter 6

**6**

**I **through another shirt onto my bed. Almost all of my clothes were spread out on my bed. Nothing looked right.I heard a thump outside. Mom and Michael were down at the beach, and they wouldn't be home for at least twenty minutes. I pulled a white flowy tank-top with a blue wave crashing on it. This was my favorite shirt that mom bought for me, and it looked perfect with my denim shorts. I heard another sound, like creaking wood floors under feet. I snapped back to reality. Someone was on the porch, and I needed to find out who.

I closed my eyes and breathed in deeply. I knew how to handle this. I have been prepared for anything since the Faith accident. I whimpered. I didn't mean to, but I couldn't control myself.

I kneeled under my bed and grabbed the knife that I hid there. I clenched my fists and walked out of my room.

The evening sunlight let in a golden glow, and it bounced off the glass table to every where in the room.

Knock...Knock…Knock.

Oh no. I walked closer to the door. I knew I had to open it. I silently clasped my hand around the golden door knob. I quickly reached out and grabbed the person's arm. I pulled him into the house and threw him over the edge of the couch.

Sawyer's face was petrified. I stared into his frightened eyes.

"Sawyer, I, I-" I didn't know what to say.

Her blanket hit me in the face as she was lifted off the living room floor. I was just waking up, when I heard a crash.

"AVERY!" Faith wailed. She was being hurt. I sat up just in time to watch a black shadow hit my cousin across the head with a flashlight. My beautiful cousin, my best friend, hasn't been seen in four years.

I shrunk down at the edge of the couch. I tried to hold back tears for a minute, but when Sawyer didn't say anything to me, I broke down.

"Hey, hey," Sawyer said as soon as my crying got harder. He shrunk down next to me and put his arm around me, "What's wrong?" I looked at him confused.

"I just attacked you." I managed. I breathed deeply trying so hard not to start bawling again. A lump grew in my throat and it made my nose feel like it was burning. There was a silence. I knew he was waiting for an answer, "My cousin was kidnapped at my house when we were eleven." It was all I could get out, and I hope he got the message.

"I'm not here to kidnap you!" He said smiling into my emerald eyes. He was so perfect, dark brown eyes, perfect teeth, tan skin. I wanted to touch his face just to make sure it was real.

"I know," I said, and turned towards him, "but I wasn't expecting you this early."

"Well I got you these," he said and reached over. He picked up a bouquet of flowers. A lot were missing petals from the accident. I smiled really big.

"Thanks." I mumbled taking the flowers, "I'm going to go re do my makeup then we can go." I told him. I started to get up and leave, as I was walking to my room I heard Sawyer stand up.

"No," he said. I knew I blew it. God, why was I so paranoid about this. I ruined my chances with a real boy who actually cares about me, "Just wash it of and go without." My lips curled up into a smile. I grabbed a towel and began gently scrubbing my face.

. . .

I rolled up my window as we arrived at a small restaurant.

"What's this place?" I asked, unbuckling my suitcase. Sawyer didn't answer, he just ran around to my side of the car and opened the door. I got out and smiled at him. The hot black asphalt warmed the bottom of my sandals as I walked towards the door. He opened this one for me too.

Immediately we were seated at a small booth in the back corner. There was no one really near us, so it made me both relieved and anxious. The smell of pizza snuck up my nose. My eyes started to water and my nose stung. I sneezed loudly in my arm before quickly sitting down in the wooden booth. The waitress walked away leaving two menus on the plastic table. The table had a little sticky residue, which I wasn't used too. I opened a menu and began at the appetizers

Calamari

Crab Cakes

Clam Chowder

Jalapeño poppers

The list continued for a whole page. I decided to skip right to the entrees. That's when I realized he was staring at me. Sawyer. I looked up at him. He was smiling, and he didn't look away either. He had a sinister grin on his face, like he was about to play a trick on me. I don't know why, but I smiled back. My eyes drifted back to my menu when I felt a weird feeling. It was like my stomach was being lifted from my body and my vision went slightly crooked. I snuck a look at Sawyer, and this time he wasn't staring back. I set my menu down, waiting for his gaze to lift up to my eyes.

"So do you like seafood?" he asked not looking up. I could hear his clear voice over the music.

"I guess. The only seafood I have ever had was lobster." I replied, " And to be honest, it wasn't that good." He looked up at me when I said that.

"That's the only seafood you have ever had?" The way he said "ever" made it seem like I was an alien.

"Correct."

"Okay than you having fish for dinner," He said. It was a statement, not up for debate.

"But I don't know if-"

"No, Ave, your eating fish," he said with a grin on his face. I gave in and grinned back. I was eating fish, and that's okay. "So how about you tell me about the, um, the , incident, we had at your house." I knew that this would come up eventually, so I tried my hardest to hold the anxiety in the back of my throat.

"My cousin, Faith, was eleven when she was, taken. She was at my house, too, sleeping over," I cleared my throat. My green eyes continued to look down at the large table, "It was sometime around three in the morning. I don't think she's still alive. But there is just that one part of me that hopes she'll show up." I lifted my head. I didn't stop the tears that rolled down my face. They slowly emerged from my eyes, and got caught in my dark eyelashes, "I slept in my parents room until I was thirteen," I said slowly, I couldn't help my feet from beginning to swing, "And honestly, I hold in a lot. When I'm upset, I really don't like to tell anyone. No matter how much anyone asks the answer will always be "I'm fine," even though I'm not."


	7. Chapter 7

7

W**hen **the waitress set our food down, I was relieved for an excuse to stop talking. Sawyer reminded me of a school counselor. You know, the kind of person who listens to everything you say but you can't tell whether they actually care or not. I squeezed the juicy lemon across my fish and split it in half with my knife. Sawyer looked to be a quarter of the way done with his hamburger already. He chomped down into it in such a savage manner that it looked polite. How does he do that?

We ate in silence for a while, both being completely satisfied with our meal. Sawyer moved onto his coleslaw when he had a bite or two left of his burger.

"I'm really sorry about your cousin." He managed through his full mouth. I felt my body move forward slightly , toward my plate of fish and fries. I didn't know how to answer exactly, I had heard those exact words so many times in my life, I didn't want to hear it again.

"Thanks." I replied. Then we both continued our meal in a silence, not a bad silence. He was almost finished with his meal, so I picked up the pace and shoved large amounts of fish into my mouth. I hadn't even noticed Sawyer looking at me the whole time.

"Slow down, you'll make yourself sick," was not the answer I had been expecting from him. I felt this feeling. It was deep down in my gut, not butterflies though. More than that. It was like the whole zoo was inside my stomach drinking red bull. I almost through up. I chuckled, trying to pass off his comment like it hadn't meant anything, but actually it was one of the sweetest things a guy has ever said to me. …

Once we were back in the car, we rolled the windows down of his rusty blue car. I didn't mind it actually, even though my hair, which had taken forever to straighten, was now blowing all over my face. I didn't car how I looked. That's a first.

Sawyer passed my house quickly, keeping his eyes forward.

"We missed my house!" I called over the stereo. He quickly looked over at me and back at the road.

"Let's just go for a drive!" He called back. I smirked and laid back in my seat. We passed the marine park, a boardwalk and several restaurants. I liked this town, I liked it a lot. It felt safe and cozy. It reminded me of when Mom and I had gone to a spa that was nautical themed. It had lots of palm tress and boats and murals of waves and beaches. The service was great too, but I was too young to care about that, I just enjoyed the melt-away mints that were at the front desk. Suddenly, I was snapped out of my thoughts and thrown forward in the seat. I gasped for air as the rough seatbelt rubbed my neck. I looked over at Sawyer with a facial expression that read, "You trying to kill me?", but it vanished when I saw his face. It was all tense and looked frightened as he slowly drove down the neighborhood we had entered. He turned down the stereo.

"Are you okay?" He asked, "I thought we should go for sunset." I turned around and saw that, in fact, we had taken a sharp right turn. All for a sunset.

"Yeah I'm fine," I said. I wasn't sure what to say back to him. The good silence had become awkward silence, and that made me upset.

The sunset, however, was absolutely breathtaking. It was unlike any sunset I had seen on the river or in a picture. The colors around the sun were perfectly blended and were as vivid as rainbow sherbet. We leaned up against the wooden fence and watched the sun slowly fade behind the water. I felt so…so, different. I never tell anyone about Faith, I never go in car with men I don't know and I never, ever have stared at a boy as much as I did at sunset. It caught me by surprise when his fingers intertwined with my pale hand. For a moment, I forgot about everything bad that had every happened to me. The sounds of children and adults vanished from my ears and the whole scene was perfect. But I had to leave. I just had too.


End file.
